Project Summary/Abstract USPHS Scientific & Training Symposium The PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation for the Advancement of Public Health, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, will continue to host the USPHS Scientific & Training Symposium. Most attendees are members of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and other federal, state, local, and tribal health professionals. The cost-effective conference offers sessions with free continuing education credit and discussions of the latest trends and innovations in public health programs, delivery of care, administration, regulation, and research. The conference, and the work of attendees, is strongly connected to and supports the FDA?s mission to protect the public health. The conference is widely supported by the Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies/operating divisions, U.S. Coast Guard, Bureau of Prisons, and other agencies where federal public health professionals work. Each year, the conference partners with schools of public health, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and other fields to ensure students can submit abstracts for presentations. Many students attend sessions and speak directly with practitioners who can share career advice and options for joining the public health workforce. Since 1966, the conference has provided attendees with training relevant to the agencies where they work. Knowledge is shared through oral and poster presentations, plenary discussions with health leaders, hands-on breakout sessions, and the application of new technology and techniques in public health. By the end of the scientific conference, participants should be more prepared to achieve their agency missions and carry out routine tasks with new inspiration gained from interactions with colleagues in the public health community. Attendees should also be able to increase their capacity to effectively respond to crises occurring in public health systems or health disasters. They will also be able to better recognize the regional and national importance of their work in regulation, health care, management, and research. Attendees will gather skills for leadership development, share best practices that strengthen the ties between public and private organizations, and identify priorities in public health and the environment. Conference attendees will learn to delineate key steps involved in activating an emergency response plan and gather recommendations for improving the public health infrastructure with regards to readiness, response, systems and policies. The USPHS Scientific & Training Symposium is closely related to the mission of the Food and Drug Administration and supports the continuing education of current and future FDA employees.